Penn State Class of 2027 Official Thread

Please use this thread to discuss everything related to Fall 2023 admissions for class of 2027 for Penn State University Park. Who has applied? Who has gotten admissions decisions?

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Has anyone applied yet?

My son applied a couple of weeks ago, but doesn’t expect to hear anything until probably November based on last year - engineering.

Thanks. Do we have to send official scores?

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If you elect to submit your scores (son did), then yes they have to submit official scores from SAT or ACT. High school classes and grades are just submitted through the SRAR. You don’t need an official transcript unless you you go to Penn State and then just submit the final high school transcript.

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My daughter applied last weekend. I am wondering when they will begin sending acceptances.

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Has anyone applied application (not common app)? There seem to be no provision to enter AP scores.

Admission notifications started appearing just before thanksgiving

I am pretty sure you send those later after acceptance. You can send scoresany time…as in when they are a junior in college. PSU raises tuition rates junior year so some people wait to send scores so as to not bump up to junior status too soon

So this can be a discussion thread but this will not be the official decision thread. That will be created later closer to when decisions will be released.
Decisions will not be released until November/December timeframe for those who applied EA. n. EA timeline is a decision by Dec 24 if you applied by Nov 1. For Priority decision, they will notify by January 31 if you applied by Dec 1.

Decisions are random and in no particular order. Not by college applied to, not by application date and not by ultimate decision.

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My third and final kiddo applied on 8/2. I begged him to apply undecided/DUS, but he refused. Applied directly to Smeal with an intended major of marketing. GPA: 4.4w and 3.95 UW. If he doesn’t get in (or gets sent down to a commonwealth campus), I guess he will reapply as DUS.

His SAT score was borderline for the cut off to submit, but he did it anyway. I heard not to submit unless it was 1350 or above, so I’m going to keep my fingers crossed until the holiday season.

Sort of bummed that housing isnt given out in order that students submit their deposit, so there really isn’t an incentive to accept the offer early.

FYI…this could be my first business major. My daughter is a BSN grad and I have a son in the biobehavioral health program and wants to go to Pa school. Penn State has been very very good to us!

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My daughter applied yesterday. I read admission is rolling and I’m confused about how rolling admission timing works compared to EA, which several of you have said are released by the end of November and website says end of December. Is there a standard amount of time it might take to hear back when they’ve submitted this early?

Penn state is not true rolling. If you have applied by their EA deadline (Nov. 1), you will hear by Dec. 24th.

In the past, decisions started rolling out mid-November. For some. No rhyme or reason other than - anecdotally, high stats kids heard first. Not ALL high stats kids heard early, but that was a common thread.

BIG caveat:

  1. Penn State over enrolled last year. Big freshman class.
  2. new “VP of Enrollment” position created.

=> what does this mean?
No one knows. Will some kids hear earlier? Maybe. Will some kids hear later? Maybe.

I wouldn’t be surprised if less “bubble” kids are admitted or sent to other campuses or summer. It might be a tough year until they can get a handle on yield. Last year, they clearly didn’t get it.

I know letters of recommendation are not required. But are they optional? Or should letters not be sent because they aren’t used in admission process? What does everyone do about this?

They won’t even look at them. With 100,000+ applications, they couldn’t possibly read them.
They really use a numbers game. 2/3 of the decision is GPA and 1/3 is test scores and other factors (if you submit test scores).
What GPA you need changes every year depending on the applicant pool. But all of that being said, with the new VP of Enrollment position at PSU, many of the things we’ve known about admissions in the past 8-10 years may not be the same this year. It remains to be seen and will keep us all on our toes.

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DS is finishing his application and hopes to submit by the end of the month. He is also applying to Schreyer. Anyone else? He thinks he will major in Natural Resource Managment. He was very impressed with the advisor and program at the Summer Day.

PSU is by far his first choice–it’s just paying OOS for it that is tough!

DD applied end of August (engineering) OOS. My niece has a friend attending main campus this year and she had her decision by mid Oct last year. I suppose some heard before Nov.

Paying OOS is tough! We have intern opportunities close by that have tuition assistance. Would have to go that route. It is why VA tech is also a top option for her.

My S has 1230 SAT (submitted but looking to go test optional) and 3.9/5 UW GPA, does he stand a chance with Penn State IST ? Information Science & Technology - In state and has good 3 EC’s , 2 paid work, 9 APs +honors @jlhpsu -thank you in advance

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** 3.9/5 Weighted GPA

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